Albert Milch (1881-1951) was employed by a gilder and later a picture framer before becoming the business partner of his older brother. In 1916 they incorporated as E. & A. Milch (with Edward as President and Albert as Secretary of the corporation) and opened the Milch Galleries at 108 West 57th Street, New York City. During their partnership, Edward served as President and Albert as Secretary of the corporation. According to Joseph Gotlieb, a long-time employee, during this period Montross Gallery became inclined toward modern French art and the American artists associated with them began searching for galleries more sympathetic to their interests. "As Albert Milch was a framemaker to several of them, and as he was opening a new gallery in 1916 to specialize in American Art, some artists decided to let the Milch Galleries, and others, handle their work. It turned out to be a good arrangement for both sides, and a successful one" (letter from Joseph S. Gotleib to Susan Hobbs [National Museum of American Art], December 30, 1977).

From the beginning, Milch Galleries dealt in American art almost exclusively, representing living artists, handling the estates of recently deceased artists; in addition they acquired nineteenth century works for resale and accepted pieces on commission. Although framing and restoration services continued to be offered to customers, this aspect of the business soon diminished in importance.

Harold C. Milch (1904-1981), Albert's son, was affiliated with the business, and upon his father's retirement was appointed partner; after Albert died in 1951, Harold was sole proprietor, serving as both President and Secretary.

Milch Galleries moved to smaller quarters at 55 East 57th Street in 1947, and ten years later to 21 East 67th Street. In 1967, the name was changed to Milch Gallery and the business relocated to 1014 Madison Avenue. The gallery dissolved upon the death of Harold Milch. A third brother, David C. Milch, was also an art dealer, but was not associated with Milch Gallery.

Date

Event

1911

Edward Milch Galleries opens at 939 Madison Ave.

1912

First exhibition at Edward Milch Galleries

1916

Incorporation of E. & A. Milch; Edward Milch, President, and Albert Milch, Secretary; change of name to Milch Galleries and relocation to 108 West 57th St.

Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The records of Milch Gallery document the business transactions of the corporation and the professional and personal relationships of the Milch brothers with the artists they represented, as well as with the larger community of artists and art dealers between 1911 and 1980. Unfortunately, early correspondence is sparse. In a letter responding to a 1951 request for historical information, Milch replied: "Several years ago [1947] we had to give up our gallery at 108 West 57th Street, and move to smaller quarters here. Since we had no room for old records, we had to destroy most of them."

Alphabetical files are comprised mainly of incoming correspondence from 1911 to 1962. Correspondence concerns arrangements for exhibitions, sales and consignments, advice to collectors and executors of estates, and routine business matters. A number of the artists represented in these files were friends of the Milch brothers and some of their letters mention their personal lives as well as their formal business with the Gallery. Collectors who routinely dealt with Milch Galleries included John Gellatly, Mary Blair, Hersey Egginton, Carlton Palmer, and Edward Coykendell; a three volume manuscript catalogue of Coykendell's collection is included. Among the estates handled by Milch were Willard Metcalf, John Twachtman, Abbott H. Thayer, Maurice Fromkes, and Thomas Moran.

Also found are sales records and other financial records such as general ledgers, sales and purchase records, and tax information.

Printed matter consists of gallery exhibition catalogs, checklists, invitations, announcements, publications, and scrapbooks. Many catalogs and checklists are annotated with prices and other information. A complete run of Milch Galleries Art Notes, issued intermittently from 1918-1928/29 is preserved with the gallery records. as is a scrapbook relating to early exhibitions held at the Edward Milch Galleries and E. & A. Milch, Inc., and artists represented by them.

Photographs included with the records are less voluminous than might be expected, and pictures of works of art predominate. There are also a very small number of exterior and interior photographs of Milch Gallery, photographs of people including artists, Edward and Albert Milch, and photographs of groups such as Ten American Artists and the Associated Dealers in American Paintings.

See Index for List of Milch Gallery Exhibitions and Checklists

Arrangement and Series Description

Records of the Milch Gallery are organized into six series. With the exception of the alphabetical files, records are arranged by record type and then chronologically. Photographs are categorized by subject, with pictures of individuals arranged alphabetically by name, and works of art arranged alphabetically by artist.

Subjects and Names

This collection is indexed in the online catalog of the Archives of American Art under the following terms:

Subjects:

Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926

Subjects-Topical:

Art, American

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York

Art -- Collectors and collecting

Painters

Gallery owners

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York

Types of Materials:

Gallery records

Photographs

Names:

Acheson, Alice

Adams, Charles L., 19th cent

Adams, Wayman, 1883-1959

Aiken, Charles Avery, 1872-1965

Albee, Grace

Anderson, Karl, 1874-1956

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964

Appel, Marianne, 1913-

Arms, John Taylor, 1887-1953

Ascher, Mary G. (Mary Goldman), b. 1900

Azzaretti, Faust

Bacon, Peggy, 1895-1987

Baer, Martin, 1895-1961

Ballin, Hugo, 1879-1956

Barlow, Myron, 1873-1937

Barmore, Charles

Barr, Charles H.

Barr, Norman, 1908-

Barrymore, Lionel, 1878-1954

Baumann, Gustave, 1881-1971

Beal, Reynolds, 1866-1951

Bellows, George, 1882-1925

Benson, Frank Weston, 1862-1951

Biddle, George, 1885-

Blackburn, Morris, 1902-1979

Blakelock, Ralph Albert, 1847-1919

Blanch, Arnold, 1896-1968

Blanch, Lucile, 1895-1981

Bluemner, Oscar, 1867-1938

Blumenschein, Ernest Leonard, 1874-1960

Bohm, Max, 1868-1923

Bohrod, Aaron

Bosa, Louis, 1905-

Breckenridge, Hugh H. (Hugh Henry), 1870-1937

Bridgman, Frederick Arthur, 1847-1928

Browne, George Elmer, 1871-1946

Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943

Brush, George de Forest, 1855-1941

Buck, Claude, 1890-1974

Burlin, Paul, 1886-1969

Burr, George Elbert, 1859-1939

Butler, Howard Russell, 1856-1934

Calder, Alexander Stirling, 1870-1945

Carroll, John, 1892-1959

Chamberlain, Samuel, 1895-1975

Cheffetz, Asa, 1896-1965

Christy, Howard Chandler, 1873-1952

Cole, Alphaeus Philemon, 1876-1988

Congdon, William, 1912-

Crane, Bruce, 1857-1937

Curran, Charles C. (Charles Courtney), 1861-1942

Daingerfield, Elliott, 1859-1932

Davey, Randall, 1887-1964

DeCamp, Joseph, 1858-1923

De Groot, Adelaide Milton, b. 1876

Dehn, Adolf, 1895-1968

Dessar, Louis Paul, 1867-1952

Dewing, Thomas Wilmer, 1851-1938

Diederich, William Hunt, 1884-1953

Dike, Phil, 1906-1990

Donoho, Gaines Ruger, 1857-1916

Du Bois, Guy Pène, 1884-1958

Duncan, Charles, b. 1892

Eakins, Susan Macdowell

Etnier, Stephen, 1903-1984

Farnsworth, Jerry, 1895-1982

Fechin, Nikolai Ivanovich, 1881-1955

Fenton, Beatrice, 1887-1983

Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971

Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960

Fredenthal, David, 1914-1958

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931

Fuchs, Emil, 1866-1929

Gallagher, Sears, 1869-1955

Ganso, Emil, 1895-1941

Gaspard, Leon, 1882-1964

Genth, Lillian Mathilde, 1876-1953

Gonzalez, Xavier, 1898-1993

Greenwood, Marion, 1909-1970

Gregory, John, 1879-1958

Gregory, Waylande, 1905-1971

Grosz, George, 1893-1959

Halpert, Samuel, 1884-1930

Hart, George Overbury, 1868-1933

Hartmann, Sadakichi, 1867-1944

Haskell, Ernest, 1876-1925

Hassam, Childe, 1859-1935

Heerman, Norbert Leo, b. 1891

Heinz, Charles, 1885-1955

Hennings, E. Martin, 1886-1956

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929

Hopkinson, Charles, 1869-1962

Ireland, Leroy, 1889-1970

Judson, Alice, d. 1948

Kalish, Max, 1891-1945

Katz, A. Raymond (Alexander Raymond), 1895-1974

Kingman, Dong, 1911-

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974

Kronberg, Louis, 1872-1965

Kupferman, Lawrence, 1909-1982

Laufman, Sidney, 1891-

Lawson, Ernest, 1873-1939

Lever, Hayley, 1876-1958

Lie, Jonas, 1880-1940

Linde, Ossip L.

Low, Will Hicok, 1853-1932

Lucioni, Luigi, 1900-

Lutz, Dan, 1906-

MacRae, Emma Fordyce, 1887-1974

Manship, Paul, 1885-1966

Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932

Metcalf, Willard Leroy, 1858-1925

Meyerowitz, William, 1887-1981

Milch, Albert, 1881-1951

Milch, Edward, 1865-1954

Moffett, Ross

Mora, F. Luis (Francis Luis), 1874-1940

Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926

Murphy, Hermann Dudley, 1867-1945

Murphy, John Francis, 1853-1921

Myers, Jerome, 1867-1940

Nagler, Edith, b. 1890

Oberteuffer, Karl, 1908-

Ochtman, Leonard, 1854-1934

Parshall, DeWitt, 1864-1956

Pearson, Ralph M., 1883-1958

Perrine, Van Dearing, 1868 or 9-1955

Pittman, Hobson, 1900-1972

Pleissner, Ogden M.

Pollet, Joseph, 1897-1979

Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel, 1886-1965

Pugh, Mabel, b. 1891

Redfield, Edward Willis, 1869-1965

Ritschel, William, 1864-1949

Romano, Umberto, 1906-

Rungius, Carl, 1869-1959

Ryder, Chauncey F., 1868-1949

Ryerson, Margery

Sample, Paul, 1896-1974

Sawyer, Wells, 1863-1960

Schofield, Walter Elmer, 1867-1944

Shuster, Will

Shapiro, David, 1916-

Sharp, Joseph Henry, 1859-1953

Sheets, Millard, 1907-

Speicher, Eugene E. (Eugene Edward), 1883-1962

Speight, Francis, 1896-

Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957

Sterner, Albert, 1863-1946

Tanner, Henry Ossawa, 1859-1937

Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921

Trebilcock, Paul, 1902-1981

Tryon, Dwight William, 1849-1925

Twachtman, John Henry, 1853-1902

Ufer, Walter, 1876-1936

Varian, Dorothy, 1895-1987

Vonnoh, Robert William, 1858-1933

Warneke, Heinz (Heinrich), 1895-1983

Watkins, Franklin Chenault, 1894-1972

Waugh, Frederick Judd, 1861-1940

Weir, John F. (John Ferguson), b. 1841

Weir, Julian Alden, 1852-1919

White, Henry Cooke, 1861-1952

Wickey, Harry

Wiggins, Carleton, 1848-1932

Wiles, Irving Ramsay, 1861-1948

Woodward, Robert Strong, 1885-1957

Woodward, Stanley Wingate, b. 1890

Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-

Zucker, Jacques, 1900-

Milch Galleries

E. & A. Milch, Inc

Provenance

Milch Gallery gave the Archives of American Art a small selection of correspondence, photographs, and printed matter, and loaned a few other items in 1966-1967; these records were microfilmed on reels D285, N730, and NM1-NM2. Records of the Milch Gallery were purchased from the estate of Harold C. Milch by Elliott Galleries of New York City, and subsequently acquired by Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, which donated them to the Archives in 1986. With the exception of the scrapbook about Thomas Moran (reel N730; present location of the original is unknown), prior loans and gifts from Milch Gallery were incorporated and refilmed with the 1986 gift.

Separated and Related Materials

In 1995 the Archives of American Art received an addition to the Milch Gallery records from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. The addition measures 0.6 linear feet and contains business correspondence; photographs of the interior of Milch Galleries from June 1959; an inventory of documents concerning the Armory Show with related correspondence that was found in the Bush-Holley House; and artist files consisting of correspondence, clippings, photographs, sales records, and printed matter for: Ralph Blakelock, Aaron Bohrod, Mary Cassatt, Arthur B. Davies, Frank Duveneck, Walt Kuhn, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, and John Twachtman.

How the Collection was Processed

The collection was processed by Catherine Stover in 1991.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Milch Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Available Formats

The bulk of the collection is microfilmed on reels #4410-4465; earlier loans were filmed on reels D285, N730, and NM1-NM2.

How to Cite this Collection

Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1:
Alphabetical Files, 1911-1962

This series contains mainly incoming correspondence including itemized invoices, receipts, catalogues of private collections, estate inventories, and printed matter and manuscript checklists, and other items enclosed with correspondence. Carbon copies of replies are sparse, but the reverse sides of many letters contain drafts of replies or brief notes to the secretary indicating the desired response. Correspondence concerns arrangements for exhibitions, sales and consignments, advice to collectors and executors of estates, and routine business matters. For each file range a list of selected correspondents, including artists, is provided. Other records in the series of alphabetical files include itemized invoices, receipts, catalogs of private collections, estate inventories, printed items, manuscript checklists, and other items enclosed with correspondence.

2.1:
Sales Records, 1911-1969, undated

Sales receipt and carbon copy volumes record the name and address of purchaser, description of merchandise (paintings, prints, frames) or service (framing, restoration, hanging or other labor), and price. Order forms duplicate information recorded in the sales records, but cover a longer time span and sometimes are more specific concerning titles and dimensions of works of art purchased; order numbers do not coincide with receipt numbers, and are cross referenced only in the receipt books.

Series 3:
Financial Records, 1914-1980, undated

Included in the financial records found in this series are general ledgers, 1916-1969 (10 volumes), pay roll, 1914-1960 (2 volumes), cash books, 1915-1967 (20 volumes), and sales and purchases, 1916-1966 (5 volumes). Sales and purchase records are accounting records only, listing names of buyers but not titles (see Series II, Sales Records and Inventories for this information). Other financial records include individual and corporate tax returns, 1917-1980, filed by the Milches and E. & A. Milch, Inc. for federal and local taxes; unemployment and workmen's compensation; and social security tax receipts. Bills and receipts, 1927-1964, are for services and merchandise purchased by Milch Gallery, excluding works of art.

Reel

Frames

unfilmed

General ledgers, 1916-1969

(10 volumes)

unfilmed

Payroll, 1914-1960

(2 volumes)

unfilmed

Cash books, 1915-1967

(16 volumes)

unfilmed

Petty cash books, 1924-1943

(4 volumes)

unfilmed

Sales and purchases, 1916-1966

(5 volumes)

unfilmed

Taxes, 1917-1980, undated

unfilmed

Bills and receipts A-Z, 1927-1964

Series 4:
Printed Matter, 1886, 1910-1967, undated

This series contains Milch Gallery exhibition catalogs, checklists, invitations, announcements, publications, and two scrapbooks. Many of the Milch Gallery exhibition catalogs and checklists are priced or otherwise annotated: see Appendix A for a full list of these. A complete run of Milch Gallery Art Notes is included here. One scrapbook contains clippings, catalogs, and invitations relating to early exhibitions held at the Edward Milch Galleries and E. & A. Milch, Inc., and artists represented by them. A second scrapbook contains a biographical sketch and clippings, about Thomas Moran.

Sculpture files contain photographs, printed reproductions, and clippings. Publicity for solo exhibitions includes clippings, catalogs, invitations, and other printed matter relating to solo exhibitions held at the Milch Gallery.

Christmas cards include original art by Norman Barr, Frank Di Gioia, Douglas Greenbowe, Harry Gottlieb, Luigi Lucioni, John Noble, and Thomas Mason, and reproductions from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Timme. Miscellaneous printed matter not from Milch Gallery includes a Catalogue of the Mrs. Mary J. Morgan Collection, 1886; Catalogue of the Charles M. Kurtz Collection, 1910; Artists Equity Association ball programs, 1950 and 1951; and a scrapbook of clippings about Walter Philipps, 1948. Publicity relating to group shows includes clippings, invitations, and catalogs.

Sculpture files and publicity for solo exhibitions are arranged alphabetically by artist.

Series 5:
Photographs, 1903-circa 1944, undated

This series primarily contains photographs of works of art. Also found are photographs of the Dodsworth Collection and a two volume album labelled "L. Ricci" containing photographs of antique furniture. There are a very small number of exterior and interior photographs of Milch Gallery as well as photographs of individuals, including some artists.

Prints are first in the series, followed by negatives. Photographs of works of art are arranged alphabetically by name of artist, as are photographs of individuals.

Series 6:
Miscellaneous, 1916-1970, undated

Miscellaneous records include legal documents, a certificate of membership in the Art Dealers Association, and package and shipping receipts. Due to mislabelling of some receipt books, the package receipt book for 1949-1952 was inserted between 1936 and 1937.